Choo Choo Train Quilt

ALL ABOARD!

I think I can, I think I can . . . . .

 Daughter-in-law, Candice, asked me to make a quilt matching the train pictures she painted for

 Benjamin's bedroom wall.  I used her original sketches as a pattern for the appliqués.

 Cupcake "Sprinkles" make a background for primary color engines and cars connected by rick rack.

 A brown stripe cut in 4.5 inch strips is sewn to the train panels.  Brown bias tape creates the rails.

 Hoping sweet Benjamin likes his new quilt even if it is a little late for his 4th birthday!

Simple & Sweet Owl Quilt

This quilt is for a dear friend who's expecting her first girl after four boys!

I made an applique owl on plain, thin, white cotton.

I wanted to keep the overall look of the quilt simple and uncluttered, so instead of all-over quilting or tying, I used my machine's eyelet stitch (one of my button hole options) to stitch simple circles at random intervals.  They do the trick of keeping the quilt together, without overwhelming the general design.

Hope she likes it!

Togetherness Makes: December 2012

 There's nothing like going home for the holidays!

We had a blast spending three weeks in Washington AND avoided a huge blizzard in Arkansas that left many of our friends without power.

My camera died half way through our trip, but here are some highlights from the first week.

Gingerbread decorating with Grandma

Northwest Trek

Annual nativity scene with the cousins

Christmas Eve visit from Santa 

(Lucy is apparently too old for Santa)

Traditional Christmas Morning Stairs Photo

The rest of our trip included a visit to the zoo and aquarium, sledding at Mt. Rainier, shell collecting at Owen's Beach, shopping, a fun baby shower thrown by my cousin, lots of late night Time's Up tournaments, New Year's Eve soda tasting, philosophical debates, dessert and Pho consumption, and family time.  

We had so much fun, it was hard to leave!

Thanks to babies A and B, who will be making their entrance sometime in the next eight weeks, Grandma J will be coming for a visit of her own! 

Easy-Peasey Stamp Necklaces

Several months ago, I found these darling little stamp necklaces on a British website and thought they would be a fun project for the kids and I to try to replicate.

Just before Christmas, I gathered up some supplies and the kids and we got to work.

You can find the unpainted wooden dolls at any craft store.  I got mine at Michael's with their weekly coupon (yay!).  They come in two different sizes.  Everything else, I pretty much had on hand.

Fist we painted the faces and hair- we used paint pens for the tiny face details.  Then, glued a scrap of fabric around the doll's body.  Inserted an eye screw into the top of the doll's head.  I found sheets of clear stamps in Michael's dollar bins.  We cut them to fit and glued them on the bottom of the doll.  Lastly, we threaded some hemp twine through the eye screw to finish off the necklace.

The kids LOVED making these.  Even Henry, who is five, wanted in on the action!  He made a cat and a Transformer.  Lucy decorated a small box to hold the necklace and included a little stamp pad for her bestie.  The kids gave these out for Christmas gifts to their friends, but I think they would make darling Valentine's or birthday gifts, too.

If you want to make your own, here's a list of what you might need:

}Acrylic paint in various hair/face colors

}Fine tipped paint brushes

}Paint pens

}Unpainted wooden dolls

}Small scraps of fabric

}Craft glue (like E-6000)

}Clear, small stamps (that fit on the bottom of the dolls)

}Tiny eye screws

}Twine or ribbon

}Fray Stop (optional)-- for the edges of the fabric

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

This year has been full of changes for our family. 

The biggest of all came in August when we were surprised to learn we were not only expecting, but expecting twins (two girls, if you are curious and didn't already know).  

Since then, things have slowed down... a lot.

There have been fewer posts from the Arkansas half of this blog because productivity in Arkansas has all but come to a screeching halt (unless it has something to do with growing two babies at once).  So, that is my excuse for not sending Christmas cards out to our beloveds this year.  But, I didn't want the year to end without sending some good cheer and a family update your way.

Here is the 2012 Griffin Family Recap (for anyone who is interested):

Billy got a new job working for a commercial sealant company in Arkadelphia as their lead chemist.  In September, his company sent him to Germany to meet with some of their partners, but he was also able to squeeze in a visit with some good friends and Oktoberfest.

Billy also graduated this month from the University of Arkansas in Little Rock with his PhD in chemistry.  It has been a long road and we are really proud of him!  

While Billy slaved away this summer, the kids and I took a couple of road trips.  In June, we headed down to Dallas.

In July, we made our way to Florida.  We are partial to the sun and sand and it was the perfect way to end the summer.

School started in August with lots of morning all day sickness, Henry in Kindergarten and Lucy 4th grade.  Lucy, turned 9 this summer, is a great student, and loves reading, video games, and animals.  She is an aspiring vegetarian-veterinarian and author/illustrator (her latest illustrated cook book for kids is available upon request).  She is most excited about being the oldest of four kids and taking care of the babies.

Henry has picked a Southern accent in school, which really cracks me up.  He loves to play Legos and computer games, read, and use his imagination.  He is constantly telling me things that I'm pretty sure only happen in his head.

The highlight of my year (besides Billy graduating) was a trip in February to L.A., where I got to hang with my sister-in-law and mom.  Traveling is good for my soul.  This year, I also enjoyed teaching piano lessons, a second year in my quilting group (12Squared), my eighth year in my book group, took an upholstery class, quit working at Walmart, and got to visit with some long time friends.  All good things.  

This next year, we are hoping for new adventures and are excited to meet our two littlest family members in March, and hopefully more blog posts.  

We want to wish you all a very merry Christmas, full of things that are good for your soul, and the happiest of New Years!

xo

Becca